Year in Review - Part Two

Published on September 15, 2004 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Vero Beach Devil Rays News Release


TEN MOMENTS TO REMEMBER FROM 2004: 10. YOUNG BREAKS VERO BEACH DOUBLES RECORD: In what proved to be one of the best offensive seasons in Vero Beach Dodger lore, Delwyn Young made history with his 34th double of the season on August 14th at Palm Beach. The powerful second-baseman would go on to slam 36 doubles, three greater than the mark of 33 set by Henry Rodriguez back in 1989. All told, Young hit .281 with 22 homers, 85 RBI and 11 stolen bases, making a legitimate run for Florida State League Player of the Year honors.

9. ANDY LAROCHE'S PLAYOFF GRAND SLAM: This one would probably be a lot higher on the list if the Dodgers had come all the way back to win the game, but LaRoche's blast was somewhat of a microcosm of the entire Vero Beach season. Trailing 10-4 in the seventh inning of game one, LaRoche's lengthy duel with Daytona fireballer Thomas Atlee eventually came to a climax with the opposite field bomb to bring the Dodgers to within a pair. Coincidentally, the only other grand slam hit by a Vero Beach player this year was also by LaRoche, against Daytona in the regular season.

8. YOUNGSTERS DOMINATE IN JACKSONVILLE: It's the annual progression from Vero Beach to Jacksonville and this season was no exception as eight VBD's made the journey north. Three young Dodgers, however, stood out as RHP Chad Billingsley, SS Joel Guzman and RHP Steve Schmoll all made the jump in the season's final two months with each doing more than holding their own. The 20-year-old Billingsley went 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA in eight starts as one of the Southern League's youngest pitchers. Guzman, 19, hit .280 with nine homers, 11 doubles and 35 RBI in only 46 games as the league's only teenager. Schmoll, in his first full season of professional baseball, picked up right where he left off in Vero Beach, posting a 1.83 ERA with two saves in 11 August appearances. Of all the players who have ever made the trek from Vero Beach to Los Angeles, these three might get there as fast as anyone.

7. JONATHAN BROXTON FANS 13 JUPITER HAMMERHEADS: In what probably amounted to the most dominant pitching performance the FSL saw this season, Broxton looked like a man among boys in his April 15th mastery of Jupiter. "The Bull" struck out 13 Hammerheads, allowing only two hits and a walk with no earned runs in seven innings as the Holman Stadium crowd was treated to a 1-0 Dodger win. At the time just 19-years-old, Broxton got stronger as the game went along, fanning eight of the final ten batters he faced.

6. MERRICKS SILENCES PALM BEACH FOR HUGE VICTORY: The Dodger lead had been trimmed to 1.5 games over fast-charging Palm Beach, who turned to rehabbing big leaguer Rick Ankiel on a dreary Saturday night at Holman Stadium. Acquired in a draft-day deal one week earlier and very much an unknown commodity, Merricks got the call in a spot start after working predominantly out of the bullpen. The southpaw turned in a gritty performance, out-dueling Ankiel by tossing six shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks. Delwyn Young's first-inning RBI single accounted for the game's only run in a 1-0 Dodger victory.

5. MORE DRAMATICS FROM LAROCHE IN COMEBACK WIN: In the first half of the season, the Dodgers struggled mightily to come from behind, failing to win a single game when trailing after eight innings. On July 30th, though, LaRoche displayed just how far the club had come. Down by a 5-4 score to first half champ Daytona, LaRoche and the Dodgers were down to their final strike with a pair of runners on. When all appeared to be lost, LaRoche swatted a two-out, two-run, game-winning double off the left field fence to bring Vero Beach back to victory.

4. VBD'S STREAK OUT OF THE GATE IN SECOND HALF: As the first half drew to a close, fans had to wonder if the VBDs could parlay their newly-found winning ways into success in the season's second half. After dropping the first game of the new season, the Dodgers quickly answered that question with a season-best seven-game winning streak. In taking three straight from visiting Fort Myers and sweeping Sarasota, Vero Beach either came from behind in the latter innings or won in their final at-bat three days in a row. If there had been one specific time to begin believing in the 2004 Dodgers, their seven-game winning streak was it.

3. WALK-OFF WIN IN FRONT OF PACKED HOLMAN STADIUM: The biggest home crowd of the season was treated to perhaps the most entertaining win of the season. Greater than 4,300 fans, anticipating the post-game fireworks extravaganza, witnessed a pitcher's duel between Broxton and St. Lucie prospect Yusmeiro Petit, with the Dodgers trailing 1-0 into the late innings. After tying the contest at 1-1 in the seventh, injury-replacement Brett Dowdy singled down the third base line with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to ensure the Dodger victory.

2. MEGREW, DODGERS FLIRT WITH NO-HITTERS: Not the first, not the second, and not even the third time was a charm, but it sure was fun watching them try. Three times, Dodger pitchers took no-hitters beyond the seventh inning, twice into the ninth, but each time, the effort was foiled. Mike Megrew made the first of his two runs at the no-no, tossing seven no-hit innings on May 19th versus Tampa before the Yankees broke up the bid against reliever Beau Dannemiller in the eighth. Clint Hosford, Rich Bartlett and Schmoll came the closest to accomplishing the feat on July 23rd against the same Yankees in Tampa. Only an error with two outs in the ninth inning kept the 1-0 game alive, allowing a single to bust the hitless effort. Not to be outdone, Megrew threw seven no-hit innings again on August 24th against Brevard County, as Jamaal Hamilton allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to end the bid.

1. VERO BEACH CLINCHES SECOND HALF TITLE: This one is pretty much a no-brainer in that it's the culmination of everything mentioned before it. Like all other playoff clinchers, when Rich Bartlett struck out the final St. Lucie batter to nail down the Dodger victory, the turnaround was complete and all of the hard work had paid off. Regardless of how the playoffs ended, the 2004 Dodgers were a special team, and that was never more evident than on August 31st. Eight of the nine Vero Beach starters had at least one hit, while Merricks provided the pitching again, allowing just one run over five innings for the win. The Dodgers went on to prevail 3-1.

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Florida State League Stories from September 15, 2004


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